1. Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with the intra-oral adjustment of an arch wire which is secured to the bands or brackets, which are in turn secured to the teeth in an orthodontic program. The two pliers are usually used as a set or in some instances can be used individually in accomplishing either a first order or second order bend in the arch wire while keeping the wire secured in the mouth. This allows the orthodontist to make an adjustment on the arch wire without removing it from the mouth, thus saving valuable time. A second feature of the orthodontic pliers of this invention is a set screw adjustment mounted in the upper jaw of the pliers which allows the orthodontist to adjust the amount of bend in the arch wire by controlling the amount of closure between the jaws of the pliers.
2. Prior Art
The invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,132, entitled "Bow Forming Pliers," by Henry Mann, pertains to a parallel jaw plier having a pair of wire cutters manipulated by the opening and closing of the handles. The jaws of the plier are operated in a parallel manner to move complementary configurations formed in the jaws whereby the ends of the wire may be bent into closed or open loops or bayonet stops to provide a precise configuration and a series of like sized loops in the wire. The jaws are so constructed that the wire which is to be bent may be made as an offset bend or bayonet stop or a start of the bow. The jaws are particularly adapted so that wires may be formed into an outer bow loop which may be either a closed or open loop.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,306, entitled "Multiple Purpose Orthodontic Pliers," by Richard W. Dobyns, there is disclosed a plier having three distinct surface curvatures on each mating surface. The pliers are particularly helpful for adjusting a crozat orthodontic appliance. During such an adjustment a particular mating pair of opposing plier surfaces is utilized to apply pressure to a particular curved section of the crozat appliance. Each of the curved surfaces of the pliers are arranged to mate perfectly with a particular curved surface of the appliance in order to perform the desired adjustment manipulation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,781,993 entitled "Light Wire Pliers for Orthodontists," by Anthony J. Cusato, there is disclosed a pliers for the making of very small helical and vertical loops. Inserted hardened high speed steel facing portions are fixed, as by soldering, to stainless steel jaw members of the pliers so as to face the jaws so that those extremely small size jaw ends may be used to form the wire without bending, deformation, wear or breaking of these jaw portions.